Shelby Bottoms Greenway

The **Shelby Bottoms Greenway** extends from the heart of Shelby Park, past the Shelby Bottoms Nature Center, and throughout Shelby Bottoms — a 950-acre floodplain preserve along the Cumberland River. Shelby Bottoms Greenway and Shelby Park are located in urban East Nashville, less than four miles from Lower Broadway and other downtown destinations. Managed by the Metro Parks department of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, the greenway stands as one of Nashville's most significant conservation achievements of the 1990s and a signature element of the city's broader greenway network. The 960-acre Shelby Bottoms Greenway and Natural Area is one of five Natural Area Parks within Metro Parks.

History and Preservation

Just adjacent to Shelby Park, with its fertile soils deposited by the Cumberland River running along its eastern boundary, the land has a long history of occupation and usage. It was occupied by Paleoindian, Archaic, Woodland, and Mississippian cultures at various times from 11,500 BC to 1600 AD, and was subsequently farmed for generations during the modern era, until as late as 1994. The lands that would become the greenway once belonged to three farms: Oakland Farm, the Fortland Farm, and Wild Acres.

Shelby Bottoms, a floodplain characterized by agriculture and swampland, faced potential destruction in the 1980s. The owners of the land proposed a swap: they would acquire the Shelby Golf Course to turn it into a development, while the city received the Bottoms. Other ideas conceived by the landowners included dredging the bottoms to develop housing units along a "scenic parkway" or selling the property to a private landfill. East Nashville residents quickly organized an emphatic opposition and quelled these propositions.

In the early 1990s, a small committee of Nashville citizens was asked by Mayor Philip Bredesen to identify lands in Davidson County which should be preserved as open space and parks. The committee, termed the "greenspace" committee, recommended purchase of this vast floodplain known as Shelby Bottoms. Metro Government began purchasing the land in several large tracts. In 1992, Metro Council created the Greenways Commission, and in 1994 the commission announced Shelby Bottoms as its primary greenway pilot project. The master plan for the greenway and natural area was designed by Hawkins Partners, Inc., and lies within the floodplain of the Cumberland River in East Nashville.

The mission statement written for Shelby Bottoms called for protection, preservation, and restoration of the open space as a greenway and nature preserve, with an emphasis on environmental sensitivity and passive recreational opportunities. A first phase of the trail system was celebrated with a grand opening event on October 25, 1997. Nashville's first greenway was soon under construction in Shelby Bottoms, as reported by The Tennessean in 1993.

Expansion and Cornelia Fort Airpark

Two more sections of trail were phased in over the years following the 1997 opening, for a total of more than three miles of river frontage and more than five miles each of paved and primitive trails for visitors to explore and enjoy.

Since 2007, two more pieces of land have been added to the Shelby Bottoms Greenway, including the latest 130-plus acres of Cornelia Fort Airpark in 2011 — the first acquisition under the Nashville Open Space Plan. Cornelia Fort Airpark was established in 1945 on land adjacent to Shelby Bottoms, in honor of Cornelia Fort (1919–1943), an inspiring figure in early women's aviation. Fort was born and raised on the land that is now the Airpark. An aviator and instructor — the first female flight instructor in Tennessee — Fort found herself giving flying lessons in the air over Honolulu on the morning of December 7, 1941, when a wave of Japanese Zeros swept past her. Cornelia Fort Airpark was opened to the public as part of Shelby Bottoms in 2014. Today, community members may be found roller blading and cycling on the runway where Fort learned to fly.

Today, totaling 960 acres, the greenway stretches along the Cumberland River for three miles, from Shelby Park in the south to Cooper Creek in the north, and is abutted by a residential subdivision to the west.

Trails and Recreation

The greenway offers over five miles of paved, ADA-accessible trail for hiking, biking, running, skating, and wildlife watching, as well as over five miles of primitive trails for more passive activities such as walking, running, and exploring nature. The Shelby Bottoms Greenway features a relatively flat and meandering multi-use pathway, river overlooks, and an internal observation platform for studying the local ecosystem. The greenway also leads to the parks' unpaved nature trails, the Cornelia Fort Air Park, and a Cumberland River Pedestrian Bridge that joins to the Stones River Greenway.

A pedestrian bridge across the river links the Bottoms to the Stones River Greenway, creating a continuous right-of-way for non-motorized commuters. Cycling is a popular activity at Shelby Bottoms, as the greenway forms part of the 26-mile Music City Bikeway that connects Percy Priest Dam and the Warner Parks.

Greenways for Nashville lists the Shelby Bottoms Greenway at 9.7 miles in total length. Two Nashville B-Cycle stations are easily accessible from the greenway and park, located near the Davidson Street entrance to the park and at the Cornelia Fort Airpark trailhead, at which residents and visitors can rent a bike to ride on the Shelby Bottoms and other connected greenways and bike lanes.

The greenway's main trailhead and parking are located at 1900 Davidson Street, Nashville, TN 37206, with a secondary trailhead at 2032 Forrest Green Drive. The Shelby Bottoms Greenway and Nature Park is open dawn until dusk every day.

Natural Environment and Wildlife

With approximately three miles of Cumberland River frontage, the area features bottomland hardwood forests, open fields, wetlands, and streams, providing excellent habitat for birds, amphibians, deer, and more. The greenway features bottomland hardwood forests of oak, hickory, maple, locust, hackberry, sweetgum, and sycamore trees. The greenway is also a habitat for a variety of amphibians, birds, and other wildlife, including deer, red fox, raccoons, flying squirrels, and mink.

Many frog species can be heard calling throughout the year, and the local birding community considers the park one of their top spots for bird-watching field trips. A wide variety of sparrows can be found, as well as Neotropical migrants and waterfowl. It is not unusual for Black-crowned Night Herons or Eagles to be spotted. Nesting boxes for Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Sparrows are a favorite sight for visitors along the trail.

The park is primarily rich river bottom land, with boardwalks over streams and wetlands and great overlooks of the river. The open fields and wet areas give much diversity to the land, with an abundance of wildflowers, birds, and amphibians.

Shelby Bottoms Nature Center

The Shelby Bottoms Nature Center was constructed at the Main Trailhead of Shelby Bottoms in late 2007 to help fulfill the mission of the park, opening the doors to enriched educational experiences for park visitors. The Nature Center is an environmental education and recreation facility of the Nashville Metropolitan Board of Parks and Recreation — a place where people can enjoy learning about the natural and urban landscape, the flora and fauna that call it home, and the cultural history of the area.

The Shelby Bottoms Nature Center facilities include a nature center housing natural and cultural history exhibits, programming space, art and photography exhibition space, and a library with many field identification guides, natural and cultural history titles, and children's books; an organic demonstration and teaching garden; a Cumberland River Compact rain garden; a children's Nature Play area; and the main trailhead for approximately five miles each of primitive hiking trails and paved ADA-accessible trails.

The center offers a wide range of free public nature and environmental education programs, school field trips, educator training workshops, outdoor recreation programs, individual and group volunteer opportunities, student internship possibilities, Girl and Boy Scout programs, and other special activities for people of all ages.

In 2008, a group of community members formed Friends of Shelby Park and Bottoms to partner with the Metro Parks Department to manage, improve, and advocate for the park.